Sookasa Introduces Industry’s First Compliant Cloud Document Sharing through any Email Application with no Receiver Setup Required

PRESS RELEASE

SAN MATEO, Calif. — June 25, 2014 — Sookasa, Inc., an innovator in compliance for popular cloud applications and mobile devices, today introduced new capabilities for its Sookasa Cloud Compliance Service™, including the ability for users to share documents through any email provider using secure private links.  For the first time, content that is encrypted on public cloud services can be shared securely using file links with any recipient, with no receiver downloads or setup required.  Sookasa also has extended its support for Dropbox encryption, compliance and access control to Android devices.

With today’s update, Sookasa enables professionals to natively leverage their favorite cloud file sharing services, such as Dropbox, using Windows, Mac and now Android devices, while transparently encrypting sensitive data and addressing regulations such as HIPAA and FERPA.  Sookasa now enables professionals to use their favorite email clients, such as Gmail, Outlook, and Mailbox, to securely share documents by sending private links to encrypted data.  The recipient must be authenticated in order to access the content of the link, and will not be able to forward access to others.

Cloud services such as Dropbox, Box and Gmail scatter and duplicate files across multiple devices and shared folders.  This creates a significant challenge in regulated industries such as healthcare, education, legal and finance because the loss of a single device that is connected to a cloud account can cause a catastrophic data breach and significant legal liability.

“SonoCiné is a medical imaging manufacturer that must transfer large patient files containing private patient information and ultrasound studies for breast cancer imaging,” said Mark Kania, SonoCiné director of business development.  “The physicians doing the imaging studies must securely transfer these large files to other physicians who give second opinions on these medical images.  We are using Sookasa in conjunction with Dropbox to easily share these large images and maintain HIPAA compliance for our hospital and physician customers.  We see an increasing need to use Sookasa as we grow our customer base and increase the number of these confidential file transfers of patient information.”

Email attachments are a security and compliance threat because they can be scattered across multiple email clients and public servers, and may be easily forwarded to unauthorized recipients.  Several cloud file sharing services have replaced email attachments with links pointing to the secure content.  While this mitigates the storage of files across multiple email clients and servers, it does not prevent the forwarding of public links to unauthorized recipients.  Recent coverage on the vulnerabilities discovered in link sharing from Box and Dropbox also highlight the need to guarantee that link sharing should be made private and secure.

“When I communicate with clients and with insurance carriers I have to follow HIPAA standards,” said David Brabender, President, Atman Insurance Services.  “Before Sookasa we had to use the fax, which is considered more secure than email.  However, fax machines are cumbersome and time-consuming both to us and to the recipients.  Sookasa’s Secure Link capability is innovative.  It meets HIPAA requirements while providing recipients easy access to documents through email, without requiring the recipient to setup any software.  I’m a small operation, so Sookasa’s affordable price is attractive.  In addition, Sookasa makes it easy to grow and add users to the service.”

Sookasa Secure Link Sharing produces a unique private link for each receiver and authenticates the recipient’s identity when they try to access the file.  Professionals in regulated industries can now securely share sensitive data with any recipient, including a client, patient or an external partner, knowing that even if the email is intercepted or forwarded, only the original recipient will be able to access the private information.  For example, healthcare providers can now securely send Protected Health Information (PHI) to their patients and colleagues using their favorite email applications, including Gmail and Yahoo! Mail.  Law firms can now send sensitive information to their clients without compromising client-attorney privilege using any email client, without the need to deploy email encryption solutions that require extensive IT support.

Sookasa Secure Links are created in a similar way to Dropbox and Box links.  The user selects the file they wish to share, designates the appropriate recipient’s email, and pastes the private link to any email client of their choice.  After the recipient clicks on the link, they will go through an extra authentication step to verify their identity, after which they will be able to access the file.  All files accessed are audited and links can be expired at any time by the sender.  The recipient does not have to be a Sookasa or Dropbox user in order to access the data.

In addition to enabling file sharing via email, Sookasa is responding to the continuing trend of BYOD where employees are freely choosing between iOS and Android based devices.  Today’s launch allows organizations in regulated industries, including healthcare, legal and finance, to stay compliant in the BYOD era, and to enable popular cloud services such as Dropbox and Gmail with sensitive data on any Android smartphone or tablet.

“Following our launch and rapid traction earlier this year, many of our customers wanted to extend the high level of security they experienced with Sookasa on Dropbox to documents sent over email,” said Asaf Cidon, Sookasa CEO and co-founder.  “We have responded to customer demand and launched our Secure Link Sharing, which enables any organization to securely share sensitive documents over an email client of their choice, without requiring the other side to sign up or install to any additional service.  Today’s launch solidifies Sookasa as a transparent layer of content security for mobile collaboration, allowing companies to safely adopt the best-of-breed file sharing and email solutions of their choice.”

Availability and Pricing
The updated Sookasa Cloud Compliance Service is available today directly from Sookasa at www.sookasa.com.  Sookasa’s compliance package is offered at $10 per month per person or $100 per year per person, including a free 30-day trial.  Volume discounts apply.  Sookasa also offers a free personal security plan that provides encryption without centralized administration and compliance.

About Sookasa
Sookasa is the industry’s first Compliance as a Service™ that transparently protects files across popular cloud services and mobile devices.  Sookasa enables professionals to use their favorite cloud services, such as Dropbox and Gmail, and mobile devices, while transparently encrypting sensitive data and addressing regulations such as HIPAA and FERPA.  The company is led by a team of academics, serial entrepreneurs and seasoned security veterans.  Headquartered in San Mateo, Calif., Sookasa is backed by Accel Partners.  For more information about Sookasa and its solutions, call (888) 675-4998 or visit http://www.sookasa.com.